NOTES:
1] Welcome to Advent, & a "Year of Luke'. 2] Ch.21 is 'apocalyptic', i.e. about things revealed. See, e.g. IS 13:10 & 34:4, JOEL 2:30-31. Despite this future note, Jesus always expects us to live in the present! 3] Remember that 'Son of Man' always has both earthed & divine thrusts. 4] v.32implies that Jesus sees his return as imminent, but some think 'this generation' is better translated 'humanity in general'.{Esler, Community & Gospel in Luke-Acts, p.64, Cambridge, '87}

WARMING UP: How prominently does the 'end of the world' feature in our thinking / living?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

25-28    Are we more perplexed / confused / distressed by what we see in the heavens or what we see happening on earth? Does what Jesus says mean we should be looking in both directions? How relevant is the kind of thing he says here for us in today's world? Or is what he says just a playground for 'cranks' today?
Is there anything / something that makes us 'faint with fear & foreboding' today? Which seems most urgent: 'powers of the heavens' being shaken, or powers on earth? What might 'your redemption is drawing near' mean today? Is our head raised, bowed, nodding, shaking,.........?

29-33    Can we see any kinds of sign that God's Rule is drawing near? Is the inter-connectedness Jesus sees here between humans & creation (trees, stars, etc.) something we ourselves also 'read' & appreciate? Do we see the possibility that our generation (or our children's, grandchildren's, etc.) will not pass away 'until all things have taken place'? Is the idea of an end time part of the way we see things? What about the way God sees things? Does Albert Einstein's 'Religion without science is blind. Science without religion is lame.' throw any light on the way we approach issues like these?

34-36    What are we most 'on guard' against in daily life? Anything? What are the day-by-day implications of the universal warning Jesus gives here? Or was it only for those in his own day / in his own land? Do we spend much time praying about the issues Jesus / life today / science raises in our hearts & minds? Do we 'escape' them by somehow living on some other plane, or by working through them on this earthly plane according to all the principles Jesus lays down?
Are we looking forward to standing before the Son of Man, or would we rather put that off till it's absolutely necessary? Isn't it always absolutely necessary? Aren't we doing it all the time?

37-38   Given that Jesus is pictured here as working to a routine, if not a time-table, how well do we use the time available to us? What (Who?) determines how much time is available to us? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or a matter of indifference that many of us are now in the habit of 'going looking for God' only on Sundays? Might there be some benefit if those of us in a position to do so could enter into a routine of prayer, teaching, etc. that could be incorporated into daily life, by ourselves or with others? Or is that putting the clock back too far?